Essential Oil Remedies

Essential oils have gained popularity in recent years. Ranging in use from perfumes, cosmetics and bath products to food and drink flavorings, essential oils are also effective household cleaning products and health treatments. Known as an essential oil largely because the oil contains the “essence” of the plant from which it was derived, these oils have a variety of applications and uses.

What are Essential Oils?

An essential oil can be defined as a natural aromatic compound that is derived from the seeds, bark, stem, root, flower or any other part of a plant. In addition to the pungent fragrance of essential oils, these aromatic compounds also play a part in protection and health of the plant. However, the benefits of these oils extend beyond benefiting the plants.

Essential oils have many therapeutic and medicinal benefits that have been used throughout culture. As such, essential oils are an important component of holistic medicine and balanced wellness. Different oils are used for supporting health in different ways; however, the benefits range from fighting infection to reducing inflammation and even relieving pain.

Most Common Essential Oils

Every plant contains essential oils that contribute to health in some way; however, some oils are used more commonly than others. While not the only ones, eucalyptus, jasmine and lavender essential oils are among the most common. These oils have potent effects that relieve specific conditions and encourage health.

Eucalyptus

From the eucalyptus tree, eucalyptus oil has a powerful scent that is easy to recognize. Eucalyptus is known as an antiseptic, antispasmodic, decongestant, diuretic and a stimulant. As such, it is often used to treat respiratory disease, migraines, fevers, muscle aches and pains and to support concentration.

Jasmine

A sweet-smelling oil, jasmine is derived from an evergreen with origins in China. One of the most expensive essential oils, jasmine is known best for its relaxing properties. As such, it is typically used to treat depression, tension and stress and can also be used to relieve pain of childbirth and enhance libido.

Lavender

Considered one of the most popular essential oils, lavender is known best for its stress- relieving properties. However, lavender can also be used to fight colds, flu and migraines.

Essential oils are pure, natural treatment aids that can be used to alleviate a variety of health conditions. Derived from plants, essential oils effectively render the most basic forms of nature to be used in supporting health and wellness.

Advice

Posted by Jolole (Beaconsfield, Tasmania, Australia) on 07/20/2012

Hi team, We are worried about our mother (68) who misread information about using essential oils. She insists that her body is riddled with inflammation (not wanting to take medicine/drugs for this) and a friend suggested she infuse 2-5 drops of Tasmanian Kunzea essential oil. The friend wrote it down on a piece of paper and our mother, not using her glasses! , read it as 25 drops. On top of that she did not understand the term infuse and swallowed the 25 drops with a glass of water. This happened 9 days ago and we only heard about what had taken place when we queried why it took so long to overcome her cold and how come she was coughing up all this phlegm.

Overall she is a fairly healthy woman using home remedies all her life. Lately she was diagnosed with high blood pressure and under investigation about cause(s) for this. She has seen her GP the day after she took these drops and her blood pressure had shot up by 10 points. She refuses to discuss this occurence with her GP, not only feeling stupid but also not wanting to give reason for essential oils to be prohibited. She was OK with me contacting you people and see if something could be done to minimise short/long term damage. She complains of burning feel in esophagus, earache with some crackling noises, persistent 'bronchial type' of cough bringing up lots of phlegm. Any suggestion welcome.

Given the symptoms you've described the oils are doing their job way too well for the dosage. Not necessarily a bad sign. Some oils such as lime will cause the cough up of mucus and such. In reality the oils are detoxifying her body. So it will seem as if she is sick but it's really the body getting rid of junk. The constant cackling sounds she's hearing is the candida dying off. (A Yeast infection that can cause all sorts of problems) This is a good thing as well. The burning depends on what oil- Eucalyptus really shouldn't be taken internally. Oregano oil is best taken in capsule. It does burn like no tomorrow. She may find some comfort just swallowing a tblespoon of coconut oil before a meal. Frankenscence is good too. In doing anything with oils it's usully going to be very minimal drops. They are extremely potent. Make sur she lays low on the Processed sugars and breads- That will keep the candida at bay. Plenty of vitamin d, c and whatever it takes to keep her immune up. Good luck.

Hi Jolole; It's been a few months since your post, and I hope your mother has healed already, and is doing fine now. I just wanted to say (for your info and the benefit of others) that I experienced this situation also (from snorting a mixture containing too much tea tree oil, in attempts to rid of a nasty sinus infection). After much throat discomfort, and ever worsening mucus, throat burning, and reflux symptoms, it was diagnosed as a "burned esophagus" due to the stringencency/potency of the oil. (Doctors put a camera down my nose/throat at the cost of over a $1000; and did a acid reflux study by ultrasound for another $1000). It seems that my body began over-producing stomach acid in attempts to wash away/ digest the oil reside & the burned tissue left in my throat. I was prescribed the standard acid reflux meds "Omeprizole" and ______ to keep my digestive juices to a minimim (temporarily), and to keep the acid/juices from burping-up (and further burning my throat); they also prescribed the standard GERD med/drink "Carafate" to keep my throat coated/protected until the burns healed. I took the meds for 4 weeks or so then was fine; no follow up needed. I'm sure I could have taken sodium bicarb for the acid reflux, and kept my throat coated with TUMS, and/or Pink Bismuth (Pepto Bismol), or Slippery Elm, Aloe gel lozenges just as well, and much cheaper, for the same effect.

Update re ingesting Tasmanian Kunzea essential oil. Thanks to all who responded to my request for advice when my mother accidently ingested 25 drops of this essential oil. I am happy to report that she recovered in about 3-4weeks and does not seem to have any detrimental effect of this, in spite of the fact that she had not once but 3x taken this dosis of 25drops, as we found out at a later stage. The essential oil she took was pure, locally produced and sourced from shrubs belonging to the Manuka family. Prior to taking this oil she was diagnosed with GERD and had already made dietary changes to alkalise. In all her life she might have swallowed prescribed medicine on maybe 5 occassions and only short term. She uses suger minimally and often we found that she had ran out of sugar without ever realising this. She grows organically most of her own fruit and vegies; an interest I have inherited. Even in winter we have plenty of 'greens' in the garden that are stir-fried and eaten with rice (white unfortenately) on a daily basis.

She has never taken a liking to soft drinks. In the last 15 years she gradually gained almost 20kg mostly around belly. In spite of minimal use of prescribed drugs and minimal sugar intake, tests show that she has candida and we wonder how that can be. Also her blood pressure is far too high ranging from 149/78 to 178/82, needless to say that her GP wants her on medication which she is not in favour of. She just wants to know what is causing her hbp and recently agreed to blood test to begin finding out. We also would like her to get hair analysis done to identify mineral deficiencies and she has agreed. Not until we have this information can we determine how best to help her. Blessings of health and wellbeing to all of you and thanks for sharing your experiences, ideas, suggestions and feedback.

The reason so many are coming up with candida is the meat industry has been giving low doses of antibiotics to livestock to prevent them from getting sick. I learned that app 80 % of antibiotic sales is for agriculture!

Burns

Oh, I wish I could post photographs here. Please allow me to share with you about my friend's experience when she burned her hand, and treated it by using essential oils. She was boiling quinoa on the stove. The boiling water poured over the top of her hand, and it developed a huge blister, and second degree burns.

Instead of accepting conventional, medical treatment, she started using an organic, unadulterated collection of essential oils. (PLEASE be sure the essential oils you choose are unadulterated.)

By day 4, the blister was gone, but she still had a red blotch on her hand. By day 8, you could see the oils' healing effects. By day 35, you couldn't even tell it had been burned. It looked as normal as it ever did.

With these kinds of burns, you would treat it with (unadulterated) essential oils as frequently as you need, in order to avoid pain and to begin the healing process. After the pain subsides, you may choose to use the oils as frequently or as infrequently as you wish. A reasonable recommendation would be to begin treatment 4-5 times per hour in the first few hours of the accident. If you have the oils on hand (ESPECIALLY lavender), and if you immediately apply the lavender on your burn, you should be able to avoid great pain and further consequences.

I keep a bottle of lavender in my collection of essential oils at all times. It is a great adaptogen to practically every first-aid need.

Again, I cannot stress it enough, PLEASE USE ONLY UNADULTERATED, ESSENTIAL OILS.

EC: Hi, we would love to post your photos in your thread.You can email them to staff (at) earthclinic (dot) com.

Cold Sores

Cold sore treatment: Essential oils! I used eucalyptus oil, another time tea tree oil, and now am using lavender essential oil. No pain, and it seemed to kill it instantly. It was going away before it ever really started! Just a dab, straight on it, not diluted.

Deep Wounds

In my house, essential oils are a must for their medicinal uses. The staple two are tea tree and lavender. Best healing tale: My husband caught his finger in the band saw at his work. As you can imagine, his finger was a mangled mass of meat. There was nothing to stitch together. Gross. Anyway, he applied a drop of tea tree and a drop of lavender, neat, to the wound twice daily and kept it clean, dry, and bandaged. He would air it out a bit once a day for a few minutes. It never became infected - never. It healed well with virtually no scarring.

Essential Oil Candles With Bamboo Wicks

I wanted to warn everyone about the perils of soy based, essential oil candles made with bamboo wicks. It the bamboo wicks that are the issue. I know a family here in Atlanta that had bought two expensive candles, burned them for 2 hours in the master bedroom and are still, 6 weeks later, dealing with nightmarish damage from the candles:$20,000 in damages thus far, and they still aren't finished repairing the house. The candles in just 2 hours coated all the ceilings, clothing, carpets and walls, not just in the master bedroom, but also every hallway, bedroom, closet, and bathroom upstairs. Clothes and carpet - all destroyed. Every wall and ceiling had to be restored and repainted. The shelving in every closet also had to be replaced. PLEASE DO NOT BUY CANDLES WITH BAMBOO WICKS!!!

Essential Oil Patch

I was surprised by the effectiveness of an essential oil patch I placedon my upper chest, near my armpit. (I awoke calm & relaxed, unusual, forgetting that I had it on)I purchased it at a local health store.

Question: Since the product is too expensive, I was wondering if anyone has any home recipes or methods for applying essential oils to skin. The oils in this patch were Bergamot, Ginger, Lavender and a carrier. A patch seems more effective then just rubbing it on.

I have alot of experience with essential oils, and this patch sounds like something you could easliy make at home for a fraction of the price it costs at the store. E.Os are easily absorbed through the skin, and I bet that a mix of the same ingredients (EOs plus the carrier), put on a piece of gauze and taped to the skin with surgical tape, would accomplish the same thing. And, once you get to know the properties and actions of the various EOs, you will be able to make customized blends to suit yourself. Get yourself a good primer on EOs, and whenever you try a new one, watch yourself for allergic reactions like dermatitis, etc. One really good book on essential oils is called "Medical Aromatherapy". I cannot remember the author's name off hand, but I'll post it later when I have more time.

Bergamot: Balancing, uplifting and gently warming, Bergamot oil regulates mood swings and lifts the spirits. Topically this oil can be used to balance skin that is oily, scaly or slow to heal. Ginger: generates warmth, vitality, centering and grounding, thereby helping relieve physical and emotional coldness and tiredness. It will address spacey-ness, low motivation and sensual or emotional inhibition. Ginger oil also warms and comforts the muscles and tendons.

Lavender: soothes, calms and harmonizes; relieving nervous tension and irritability. It can help resolve emotional crises and facilitates letting go of past negative experiences. It is used for nervous system disorders such as depression, headache, hypertension, insomnia, migraine, nervous tension, stress related conditions, PMT, sciatica, shock and vertigo.

Facts: Bergamot Botanical Name: Citrus Organia. Recommended to combat stress and tension symptoms. Bergamot's virtues are considerable: uplifting, refreshing, inspiring, balancing, confidence building, concentration, motivation, good cheer and harmony. Named after the Italian city of Bergamo in Lombardy, where the oil was first sold.

no success with the homemade patch.. the gauze and tape approach is too messy..I also tried an "elbow" bandage and applied the oil to the pad...but the adhesive irritated my skin..

However I found rubbing on the soles of my feet and rubbing on chest just above armpits was effective. As effective as the patch? Hard to say.. the patches run about $15 for a tin of 10...I will use both methods in the future.

Hi Rob, I wanted to comment on the oil effectiveness. Massaging it in is very valid and highly effective. In Aryuvedic medicine it is a highly regarded therapy. I have been oil pulling for about 3 months now on a very regular basis because its effectiveness was so powerful on my hip pain that I suffered from. Nothing else seemed to crack it. I read about it first long ago in Deepak Chopra's book "Perfect Health" but at that time in my life it was insignificant (oh as we age, how that changes...) Then, I found this therapy here on earth clinic and decided to give it a try. Voila! It was amazing. Anyway, I was puzzled as to why it worked so significantly and did research. I always have known of Aryuvedic medicine but not very thoroughly. Well, according to this very ancient form, oil helps to calm the body, reduce the friction and distribute the heat more evenly through the body. Also, knowing your body type in Aryuvedic medicine helps. I am very Vata so sesame oil is extremely effective for me. They also recommend massaging oil in specific areas for various reasons which may interest you a lot. In the navel before going to bed cures dryness of the whole body. Massaged at the juncture of the skull and spine will calm the entire nervous system, improve memory and eyesight. Do some research on the web. I am certain you will find it most interesting. I do a lot of research in Chinese medicine and Aryuvedic because they are so ancient and our country does not utilize or know much about them and yet they are filled with wisdom and answers. Good luck!

thanks for the info Lisa! I have a tendency to think of the skin as an impenetrable membrane..though a simple brush of poison oak or ivy one is reminded how interactive and breathing our skin is. I was told by a massage practitioner a while back that I too was Vata and before leaving she blobbed a handful of oil on the top of my head. I was quite annoyed by it, walking down the street with oil dripping down my forehead...however since then I come to realize her reason/wisdom. She saw that I suffered from an over active mind (a legal battle over the losing of my home and death of loved ones) & the massaging of oil on the head helps to calm my racing thoughts significantly. I am slowly discovering the value of oils & essential oils.. I would say that it trumps most things that I've taken internally for my conditions of stress and inflammation.

Hi again Rob, So, after telling you about the oil yesterday it reminded me of its powerful abilities- so simple yet so effective. My husband said let's try the oil on the neck tonight and we did. Well, I slept like a baby and usually am up early but didn't wake up until after 8 am feeling very refreshed. I didn't put it together but my husband said, " You really slept soundly- do you think it was the oil? I feel really calm this morning." And he is vata also and has an extremely overactive mind so you might want to try it. I am aware of the oil technique on the head- I believe it's referred to as panchakarma. Nonetheless, I laughed at image of you walking through NYC with oil dripping from your head. And being a vata you must have been really annoyed! As for your inflammation that you have alluded to a couple of times- what kind of inflammation? Have you tried the sesame oil pulling? It has helped my inflammation and calmed my hip pain down incredibly.

yes, you imagine correctly..me walking down a busy street with oil dripping down my face...I have a peculiar chronic neck & jaw stiffness with a fullness in my ears..I have yet to have it properly diagnosed.. It could be an inner chronic infection..fungus? Not painful just constant.. things like coffee or alcohol, wheat/pasta, make it worse. I also have asthma...The oils although no cure seem to lessen it or at least calm me.. similar to a good massage.

Hi again Rob, Your description is very interesting in that my husband suffered from the same thing for years. Seemingly "Strange things" would make it worse- chocolate, a certain piece of cake, pasta, etc. I would always say to him it had to do with his diet- that he had a yeast condition. Of course, he would shrug it off. That happened for years and he would suffer through it. Then about a year and a half ago, I was working with an energy healer who worked psychically as well. I know for some of you out there that might sound strange but we are energy and vibration I believe so, it can be extremely effective. Well, I was seeing results so I suggested he go. When he got home, he was very agitated and upset because she picked up that he had an extreme candida condition and parasites. Of course, now he says, "HELP ME!" and I said that he needed to start cleaning that up with diet. We also have an ion cleanse machine which we had just purchased and I had been using. He started using it on a very regular basis and had a huge change with it. I also had him do the hydrogen peroxide treatments that I had found here on earth clinic when I started coming on here last Dec. and that also made a significant change. Since all of this he no longer has reactions when he does have any of the above mentioned. I do have to say though, that since he has found such relief, he no longer really wants those things nearly as much. Before it was like an addiction which is how candida works. The "beast" I call it cries for sugar and the person keeps feeding it. My husband also says the oil "calms him" as you said but as I mentioned earlier, he too has a very racing, busy mind. Anyway, look into candida because it creates all sorts of seemingly unrelated problems. I really hope this helps you. Lisa

Where do you buy your essential oils? I want to buy them but not sure if I can only get at the health food store? Would a place like bath & body shop have good quality essential oils? Or do I have to buy them on line? Thanks!!!

This is a question for Lisa from Thousand Oaks, Ca, USA. Could you suggest anything essential oils that I could use for my pains. I would appreciate it. Thank you. I like to thank the people who are supporting this site. I have been using ACV, MSM, and Virgin Coconut Oil for the last 6 months. I have been very happy, with lots of energy and pain free but last week I did some exercises that hurt my hip. It started with heel spur pain on my left foot then it progress to knee pain and then to hip pain. At night I was unable to sleep because of the pain, a 8 on a scale of 10. One night the pain got me up at 1am and the only thing I could think of was of taking a hot water bath with epson salts. I also tried using Castor Oil on cosmetic pads soaked in caster oil on my heels, knee, and hip and then applying heat. This helped and I am feeling better but still feel very limited. Going up the stairs is very painful and I am not able to walk for exercise and have not been able to go to my joga class. Also, you mention using and essential oil to help with overall dryness could you be more specific, what kind of oil and the area were it should be applied. Again thank you to all of you, this is my favorite site.

Hi Lori, Well, to be honest, I seem to have success for temporary amounts of time for my hip pain. It is a chronic condition I have to say. From years of being a ballet dancer and after 6 years of trying to find an answer, I have learned to live w/it. I continue to search for answers though.

Most recently I had a Limbic System Analysis done on myself in which a computer reads through your systems and then gives you the feedback. Well, it came up that my body really wants MSM and cod liver oil and also is lacking in magnesium. Interestingly enough those would be all the things that could help joints! That was a week and a half ago so I have been taking quite a bit of MSM, fermented cod liver oil daily and putting lots of magnesium oil on throughout the day. I have to say that the pain in my hips has become much more bearable and my husband has commented that I seem to be moving easier. Still, it is not gone! I use a wonderful product by Omica that is MSM w/ turmeric and I think that may be the difference from other msm products. I may even add more turmeric in addition. The more I learn about turmeric the more I feel I should keep it in my system!

As for the use of essential oils, I switch it up- sea buckthorn oil, a mix of essential oils w/ homeopathics added, but also coconut oil, grapeseed oil, sesame oil, olive oil. Also, remember that our skin takes things in transdermally so you want to use really good, pure products. Anyway, I hope this info helps you.

Essential Oil Resources

Posted by Regulator555 (Grand Rapids, Mi, Usa) on 06/02/2010

For those interested in the medicinal capabilities of essential oils, check out a book by Valerie Ann Worwood called "The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy." They go beyond smelling nice. Also, never use EO's straight on the skin. Two exceptions are tea tree and lavender. Not all EO's are created equal, so do your homework before buying.

Essential Oil Tips

Posted by Kokopelli (Parkville, Mo.) on 03/04/2017

I'm a LMT and use essentials oils in everything from massage lotions to making my own skin care and cleaning products. Essential oils are not meant to be used on the skin without being diluted. It can cause skin irritations, burns and cause you to develop an allergy to them. Please be cautious in using them, they work tremendously well for treating/curing many, many conditions but use common sense and caution. They can be diluted in carrier oils or water or even lotions. A lighter oil you can dilute them in is jojoba oil, it is in actuality more of a wax very close to they type of protective wax that is naturally in our skin and may work better for the toe nail fungus than a heavier oil like olive oil.

Essential Oils for MRSA and TB

Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee, Usa) on 10/07/2013

Hi!

I read something fascinating in a newsletter I received. There have been studies that have found a combination of tea tree and eucalyptus essential oils to have healed MRSA and also TB. I have read about some essential oils working on MRSA, but never on TB. Apparently, in one study, when the compound of the oils was sprayed on tuberculosis cultures, the TB was wiped out in 40 minutes. The Dr studying this was amazed, because no antibiotic can do that.

I suppose if I had TB, one of the first things I would do would be to use an essential oil nebulizer to diffuse tea tree and eycalyptus into the air (to get it to the lungs. ) I am sure there are other natural things that would help, and I know this website has lots of things people have used to cure MRSA. It is just great to have more things to try. Always when treating something serious, I would try and obtain the highest quality essential oils possible.

General Feedback

Posted by Edentoo (Meridian, Id, Usa) on 06/25/2013

Hi, I am a registered aromatherapist and so was curious to see if your site had much on the use of essential oils. I'm surprised! I haven't looked at everything yet since I just found your website today, but haven't seen anything so far.

Are people not talking about? Do you not consider it a natural remedy? Do you feel it's covered well enough on other websites? Do you only stick to things commonly found in many people's homes? If so, then what about the supplements? Sorry for all the questions, just my nature to ask them. I'm simply very curious to know why I don't see anything about them since (good) essential oils are 100% natural and so effective for many of the ailments listed.

Dear Edentoo, There are many posts regarding essential oils (I know I have made several! :) ) but there might not be as common as many other things that people have tried, or used for many ailments on this site. I know often times people are looking for remedies easily available and that may exclude essential oils sometimes. I hope you will share with us some of your favorite cures with essential oils. As an aromatherapist, you must have lots of things that would help out earth clinic readers. As for me, peppermint and eucalyptus are two of my favorite essential oils. Geranium is gaining popularity with me, but it isn't my favorite scent, so I am not too quick to reach for it.

Aromatherapy doesn't seem to address these as well as supplements and herbs due to the strength needed to overcome them. I would think aromatherapy would be useful for brain related issues due to it's ability to overcome the blood brain barrier but I haven't seen anything real useful. Everytime I delve into the topic I don't come away with much.

This is not saying aromatherapy can address something but it just seems to address more minor problems. I've only gotten a few oil of essences in my life like oil of oregano.

What you need to do is indicate which health problems aromatherapy has good success and advantage over taking supplements and herbs.

Lavender

Hi, I love lavender oil, but have stopped using it because of advice from my nutritionist. Lavender oil, he said, can especially have a detrimental effect on your thyroid, which might be why you have hair issues in the first place. If you feel you want to continue with the lavender oil, you might consider mixing it with some coconut oil to help oppose the estrogens and unsaturated fats in the lavender oil. Coconut oil alone is said to do a lot to help repair hair and there is feedback on this site regarding it as a remedy. Coconut oil also has so many wonderful attributes and helps the whole body.

Essential oils are polyphenols, which are estrogens, and many of us are estrogen-dominant anyway. Likely as a result of my over use of essential oils in the past I have had the experience of remedies that work great for other people actually working backwards on me! It has made my case a real challenge for my nutritionist. And the only people he's worked with who react the same way I do are people who have used a lot of essential oils. There is a reason why nature puts only a tiny amount of essential oil in one plant or flower, because essential oils are very powerful substances and we really no so little about them.

Essential oils are also unsaturated fats. Saturated fats are the best for you, things like coconut oil, butter, palm oil and olive oil.

And one of the side effects of a poorly functioning thyroid, as well as estrogen dominance, is thinning of the hair.

I have noticed that my hair recently starting thinning on the top for about 6 months, nothing was helping it, until I tried Lavender oil. I put a few drops in my shampoo everyday and about three times a week massage my scalp at night with it. I find it also helps to mix in a few drops of rosemary oil. My hair is thicker on the top and is also growing a lot faster and healthier.

My chiropractor recommends lavendar oil for many ailments and said you can dilute it with a little olive oil. I even used it on my dog for his hot spots. Works great! I was badly bruised from my seatbelt in a car accident and the oil cleared up my skin in a few days. Amazing!